Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Urticarial vasculitis

  • Published:
Current Rheumatology Reports Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Urticarial vasculitis can present in a variety of ways, ranging from a primarily cutaneous disease consisting of chronic urticaria to a lupus-like disease with severe cardiopulmonary disease. Low complement levels and positive anti-C1q antibodies are markers of more severe disease. Care must be taken to look for an underlying condition. The mainstay of therapy is treatment of any underlying condition. Therapies most often employed include corticosteroids, antihistamine, and dapsone, but many others have been utilized.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References and Recommended Reading

  1. Wisnieski JJ: Urticarial vasculitis. Curr Opin Rheumatol 2000, 12:24–31.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Davis MD, Brewer JD: Urticarial vasculitis and hypocomplementemic urticarial vasculitis syndrome. Immunol Allergy Clin North Am 2004, 24:183–213, vi.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Asero R, Tedeschi A, Riboldi P, Cugno M: Plasma of patients with chronic urticaria shows signs of thrombin generation, and its intradermal injection causes wheal-and flare reactions much more frequently than autologous serum. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2006, 117:1113–1117.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Greaves M: Chronic urticaria. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2000, 105:664–672.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Greaves M: Chronic urticaria. N Engl J Med 1995, 332:1767–1772.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Wisnieski JJ, Emancipator SN, Korman NJ, et al.: Hypocomplementemic urticarial vasculitis syndrome in identical twins. Arthritis Rheum 1994, 37:1105–1111.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Kato Y, Aoki M, Kawana S: Urticarial vasculitis appearing in the progression of systemic sclerosis. J Dermatol 2006, 33:792–797.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Davis MD, Daoud MS, Kirby B, et al.: Clinicopathologic correlation of hypocomplementemic and normocomplementemic urticarial vasculitis. J Am Acad Dermatol 1998, 38:899–905.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. McDuffie FC, Sams WM Jr, Maldonado JE, et al.: Hypocomplementemia with cutaneous vasculitis and arthritis. Possible immune complex syndrome. Mayo Clin Proc 1973, 48:340–348.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Wisnieski JJ: Hypocomplementemic urticarial vasculitis syndrome. Clinical and serologic findings in 18 patients. Medicine (Baltimore) 1995, 74:24–41.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Aydogan K, Karadogan SK, Adim SB, et al.: Hypocomplementemic urticarial vasculitis: a rare presentation of systemic lupus erythematosus. Int J Dermatol 2006, 45:1057–1061.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Lienesch DW, Sherman KE, Metzger A, et al.: Anti-c1q antibodies in patients with chronic hepatitis C infection. Clin Exp Rheumatol 2006, 24:183–185.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Chew GY, Gatenby PA: Inflammatory myositis complicating hypocomplementemic urticarial vasculitis despite on-going immunosuppression. Clin Rheumatol 2006, Epub ahead of print.

  14. Schwartz HR, Mcduffie FC, Black LF, et al.: Hypcomplementemic urticarial vasculitis: Association with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Mayo Clin Proc 1982, 57:231–238.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Sturgess AS, Littlejohn GO: Jaccoud’s arthritis and panvasculitis in the hypocomplementemic urticarial vasculitis syndrome. J Rheumatol 1988, 15:858–861.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Houser SL, Askenase PW, Palazzo E, Block KJ: Valvular heart disease in patients with hypocomplementemic syndrome. J Rheumatol 1988, 15:858–861.

    Google Scholar 

  17. Palazzo E, Bourgeois P, Meyer O, et al.: Hypocomplementemic urticarial vasculitis syndrome, Jaccoud’s syndrome, valvulopathy: a new syndrome combination. J Rheumatol 1993, 20:1236–1240.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Mehregan DR Hall MJ, Gibson LE: Urticarial vasculitis: a histopathologic and clinical review of 72 cases. J Am Acad Dermatol 1992, 26:441–448.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Hunt DP, Weil R, Nicholson AG, et al.: Pulmonary capillaritis and its relationship to development of emphysema in hypocomplementemic urticarial vasculitis syndrome. Sarcoidosis Vas Diffuse Lung Dis 2006, 23:70–72.

    Google Scholar 

  20. Venzor J, Lee WI, Huston DP: Urticarial vasculitis. Clin Rev Allergy Immunol 2002, 23:201–216.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Babjanians A, Chung-Park M, Wisnieski JJ: Recurrent pericarditis and cardiac tampanade in a patient with hypocomplementemic urticarial vasculitis syndrome. J Rheumatol 1991, 18:752–755.

    Google Scholar 

  22. Hong L, Waskers F, Dewar, et al.: Atypical fatal hypocomplementemic urticarial vasculitis with involvement of native and homograft aortic valves in an African American man. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2000, 106:1196–1198.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Koul PA, Wahid A, Shah SU, et al.: Hypocomplementemic urticarial vasculitis and lower cranial nerve palsies. J Assoc Physicians India 2000, 48:536–537.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Ramelet AA: Exercise-induced vasculitis. J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol 2006, 20:423–427.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Kano Y, Orihara M, Shiohara T: Cellular and molecular dynamics in exercise-induced urticarial vasculitis lesions. Arach Dermatol 1998, 134:62–67.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Sais G: Pathogenesis of exercise-induced urticarial vasculitis lesions: Can the changes be extrapolated to all leukocytoclastic vasculitis lesions? Arch Dermatol 1999, 135:87–89.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Wisnieski JJ, Jones SM: Comparison of autoantibodies to the collagen-like region of c1q in hypocomplementemic urticarial vasculitis syndrome and systemic lupus erythematosus. J Immunol 1992, 148:1396–1403.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  28. Athanasiadis GI, Pfab F, Kollmar A, et al.: Urticarial vasculitis with a positive autologous serum skin test: diagnosis and successful therapy. Allergy 2006, 61:1484–1493.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. Bishop PC, Wisnieski JJ, Christensen J: Recurrent angioedema and urticaria. West J Med 1993, 159:605–608.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  30. Brockow K; Urticaria pigmentosa. Immunol Allergy Clin N Am 2004, 24:287–316.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. Habif JP: Sweet’s syndrome (acute febrile neutrophilic dermatosis). In Neutrophilic Dermatosis. Edited by Hodgson S. Philadelphia: Mosby, Inc.; 2004:650–652.

    Google Scholar 

  32. Soma J, Sato H, Ito S, Saito T: Nephrotic syndrome associated with hypocomplementemic urticarial vasculitis syndrome: successful treatment with cyclosporine A. Nephrol Dial Transplant 1999, 14:1753–1757.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  33. Worm M, Muche M, Schulze P, et al.: Hypocomplementemic urticarial vasculitis: successful treatment with cyclophosphamide-dexamethasone pulse therapy. Br J Dermatol 1998, 139:704–707.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  34. Worm M, Sterry W, Kolde G: Mycophenolate mofetil is effective for maintenance therapy of hypocomplementemic urticarial vasculitis. Br J Dermatol 2000, 143:1324.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  35. Saigal K, Valencia IC, Cohen J, et al.: Hypocomplementemic urticarial vasculitis with angioedema, a rare presentation of systemic lupus erythematosis: rapid response to rituximab. J Am Acad Dermatol 2003, 49:S283–285.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  36. Alexander JL, Kalaaji AN, Shehan JM, et al.: Plasmapharesis for refractory urticarial vasculitis in a patient with B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia. J Drugs Dermatol 2006, 5:534–537.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  37. Hamid S, Cruz PD, Lee WM: Urticarial vasculitis caused by hepatitis C virus infection: response to interferon alfa therapy. J Am Acad Dermatol 1998, 39:278–280.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Rheumatology, College of Medicine, University of South Florida, 12901 Bruce B. Downs Boulevard, MDC Box 81, Tampa, FL, 33612, USA

    Natalie A. Brown MD

Authors
  1. Natalie A. Brown MD
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. John D. Carter MD
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Natalie A. Brown MD.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Brown, N.A., Carter, J.D. Urticarial vasculitis. Curr Rheumatol Rep 9, 312–319 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11926-007-0050-x

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11926-007-0050-x

Keywords

Search

Navigation